Brush fires burn areas across state

SALT LAKE CITY — A wildfire scorched several acres in City Creek Canyon Friday afternoon, sending firefighters scrambling to the top and bottom of the canyon.

The fire started about 4 p.m., just north of Memory Park next to North Canyon Road, said Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman Scott Freitag. The fire then burned uphill through grass and a few bushes before being stopped at Bonneville Boulevard.

No one was evacuated from the homes above the fire, Freitag said.

"Crews got it out pretty fast," he said. "They kept it pretty small."

According to radio traffic between crews and dispatchers, at least one fire engine ran low on water and required backup. The unfilled tank was ultimately sent back to reload as the flames were squelched.

It took 45 minutes for about 25 firefighters to control the fire, which burned about three acres, Freitag said.

Investigators have not determined the cause of the fire but believe it was caused by people, he said.

Crews in Ogden spent the afternoon fighting a nine-acre brush fire that started about 1:30 near the Weber River, said Ogden Fire Chief Mike Mathieu.

Officials also consider that fire to be suspicious.

Friday night, Murray firefighters battled a small fire that burned two sheds and more than an acre of dry grass. That fire apparently started when a downed tree limb broke a power line, said Murray Fire Marshal Phil Roberts.

— Rebecca Palmer and Josh Smith